This week we are leaning into multiple metaphors: AI as a mirror, UX design as a window or room, and life as information. Plus: read about Michael Levin's upcoming presentation at the Imagining Summit, Helen's Book of the Week, and our upcoming events.
It’s easy to fall prey to the design illusion that because LLMs look sleek, they must be well-designed. But aesthetics alone do not equal design. As Steve Jobs once said, “Design is not just what it looks and feels like. Design is how it works.”
It’s curious that these two papers, tackling such similar ideas, came out at the same time. Is this coincidence, or does it tell us something about where the study of life and intelligence is heading?
The latest Big Ideas report from MIT Sloan and BCG makes for an interesting read but contains flaws, obvious conclusions, and raises more questions than it answers.
We discuss this report and make some suggestions about how to think about AI based on the survey’s conclusions:
Another surprise is that people like AI that means they don’t have to talk to their boss. Who would have anticipated that?
Nudges of the week
Helen: Synthesize Later. Integrate argument and counter-argument into a decision. Good decisions involve reconciling subjective judgments and resolving clashing causal forces. The best way to do this is to be deliberate and conscious of the need to synthesize. Schedule a meeting titled “synthesis” and set expectations that now is the moment to step slowly through each point of view, iterate, and nudge each side. Have each side make a list of the things that would bring them toward each other. Failing to do this contributes to a sense that the decision is stuck.
Dave: Be Less Wrong. Let go of perfectionism and feel the relief of knowing that by striving to be less wrong, you’ll probably end up being more right.
What We’re Learning
Helen: The Neuroscience of You by Chantel Prat. Delivers on the promise of showing you how your brain is different. Really fun and engaging book to read and do all the tests.
Dave: Learning from Helen! He’s been reading the first draft of our next book Solve Better Problems: How to Solve Complex Problems in the Digital Age. Complexity really is a different animal and it’s mind opening to understand why.
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The Artificiality Weekend Briefing: About AI, Not Written by AI
